With an inevitable cold front on the horizon and Christmas drawing ever closer, now is the perfect time to make sure that you and your home are ready for everything that winter brings. From staying cozy and warm inside to ensuring that your house is secure and protected, there’s a lot to consider in pragmatically covering all of your bases.
The last thing that you need during the busy festive season is to find out your boiler has broken, your central heating is kaput or, probably the worst feeling, finding that you have been burgled. Winter is renowned to be a huge burden on your heating, gas and water supply while it’s well documented that Christmas brings out the opportunistic burglars in their hordes.
Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to improve your home security and heating, meaning you can fully relax in your home over the winter.
Here are some top tips to ensure that you and your family will make it through the winter unscathed:
Bleed your Radiators and Check your Pipes
Finding a plumber isn’t hard if you know that your radiators or your central heating system needs to be looked at. Bleeding radiators is an easy task but if you’re unsure how to do it, or need help checking your pipes, don’t hesitate to call the experts. It’s always recommended to get these problems checked, either by yourself or an expert, early rather than waiting for something major to happen before you take action. Frozen pipes are a major issue at this time of year – it’s better to get them looked at rather than risking a burst one!
Organize a Boiler Service
It’s highly recommended that you invest in an annual boiler service and, if you haven’t done so already, now would be the right time to do it. Like humans, computers and animals, boilers need regular check-ups. The last thing you need is for your boiler to break or malfunction when it’s cold outside – a home needs heating and hot water! Arrange for a gas engineer to come and take a look at it.
Lock up
It is obviously important to make sure that when you are not at home, you keep your house safe and secure by locking the windows and doors. Be sure to also keep the house secure by locking up even when you are at home for extra protection, especially at this time of year. Use the alarm if you have one fitted, too. There are a lot of common lock problems that you may have to contend with, for example frozen locks due to the cold – keep an eye on them and get them sorted pronto if they need repairing. There’s no need to put you and your family at risk over the Christmas period by delaying checking those simple lock problems. Fixing the problem early on could make all the difference between being safe and not.
Guarantee yourself a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and keep your home in tip-top condition!
This article was written by Roxanne Wells on behalf of Centrasec.